Thanks for the compliments!! My original intent with the Birch inset was to dye/stain them black so that you could see the grain and the rest of the column was to be black as it is. I actually spent a lot of time selecting which section of the birch to use on each face to have the grain look how I wanted it. When I tried to do the dye I had two problems... #1 it took a lot more of it than expected and it is not cheap, and two the final result had a purplish tinge to it and a faded look. I probably could have spent more time to try and make it work and learn more about dyeing and staining, but when I brought the dyed column into the room I found that do to the dark color scheme I have chosen it was virtually impossible to see the grain. Soooo.... being as you could not see the grain I realized that I might as well just paint it. If I was doing a lighter color room I think the birch would have looked great as just a natural color. I consoled my self with the fact that had I known this was how I was going to do it from the beginning the only thing I would have done differently is used mdf for the facing and the cost was about the same, so all I lost was effort. Actually I think using the birch made the columns stronger so that is good. I love the sconces, found them at Lowes about a year ago and ordered them up for fear they might be discontinued before I was ready for them... good foresight on my part as they were and I would have been so bummed!! As soon as I get the rest of the columns up I will wire in the Grafik eye and get some lighted shots. I am really looking forward to controlling the lights with the Grafik eye and Irule.

Your theater room looks great! Very dark I must say... And I'm surprised you kept the chandelier. That was the first thing to go in my room. Your columns are very nice, your build looked very professional. I was thinking about doing columns in my build, but decided against it. Looking great, keep up the good work.

Thanks for the compliments xenzer. I actually bought the chandelier specifically for the theatre room, originally there was just a standard half dome light. I spent a lot of time making sure it would not interfear with the projection which it doesn't since i rear shelf mounted the projector, the nine foot ceilings help too. Yes the room is very dark with no lights on which makes the picture awesome! But with the lights all on it actually gets very bright and I still don't have all the sconces or rope light up! The sectional couch helps keep a warm feeling to the room and has already become the family retreat!

Screen edges are about 1.5 feet from the wall. I do not notice the wall at all, just a big 120" image floating in front of me!! Of course if I am looking at the wall I can see it and the brighter the scene the more so, but the flat black paint really soaks up the light. I was even a bit concerned with the light reflecting off of my speakers but again that is only noticeable if I am really looking for it.

I have not posted in a long time because I have not made any progress.

I got some motivation today and then it was quickly deflated

I need some suggestions for my columns, If you look back in my thread you will see that I made the columns face out of Birch with the intent of dyeing it so you could see the grain, which did not work out.

I was browsing the web and came across some self adhesive black ash vinyl. I ordered it with the excitement and thought that I could stick it in the insets and get the look I was originally after.

Well I am not happy with the way it is turning out. It looks decent in the dark but when light shines on it there is obvious bubbling of the material that just looks terrible. Now on one of my rear columns I sprayed the gold trim without masking off the inset thinking it would be covered which was a big mistake since i don't like the vinyl.

So I am not to thrilled right now because I put a lot of effort into the columns and they just are not turning out how I expected them to.

So here is what I need help with, should I just make them all how I have the front two, black on black with gold trim:

Here is the Black ash Vinyl with the second picture a close up of the bubbling:

And here is the one with gold over spray, what do you think if I were to paint the entire inset gold? I am worried it will be too much and take away from the character of the current amount of gold trim.

Here is an updated picture, I am getting closer to "almost" completion. I still need to add the gold crown molding, rope light, and all of the detail trim. Once I get that all taken care of then I am going to start learning about acoustic treatments and see where I go with that. I also ordered a calibration device to try my hand at learning display calibration and get this really dialed in!!

Thanks! would it shock you to find out i am SERIOUSLY contemplating redoing my theater to black and gold from grey and silver...

I really need to repaint my ceiling and trim color something darker anyway...and I saw your thread and was really inspired...I dont know why people are so afraid of black...your room looks amazing.

Thanks Premier,

I really like the colors of your theatre... Regarding the black there are some pros and cons.

I used the Behr Mouse Ears flat black... It is very black looking unless you have direct sunlight on it in then it looks a little chalky like some people have mentioned.. Having said that being as my room is a dedicated room I never let any sunlight in and it is awesomely black!! With the room lighting on it is plenty bright to relax and read or listen to music and the room lighting does not cause the black to look chalky. So I would say if it is a dedicated room go for it, if not then maybe stick with some lighter colors. If i had the time and extra money I would d black fabric frame walls like "Best room in the house" But for the minimal effort of painting I am very happy!

I really like the colors of your theatre... Regarding the black there are some pros and cons.

I used the Behr Mouse Ears flat black... It is very black looking unless you have direct sunlight on it in then it looks a little chalky like some people have mentioned.. Having said that being as my room is a dedicated room I never let any sunlight in and it is awesomely black!! With the room lighting on it is plenty bright to relax and read or listen to music and the room lighting does not cause the black to look chalky. So I would say if it is a dedicated room go for it, if not then maybe stick with some lighter colors. If i had the time and extra money I would d black fabric frame walls like "Best room in the house" But for the minimal effort of painting I am very happy!

My room is on the main floor of the house, but its strictly used as a dedicated HT. I was only half serious about changing the whole color scheme. If i had more time and money i really would put some real thought into it.

However I am going to repaint my trim a little darker. And Im making some triple black velvet curtains for over the windows. I've been toying with the idea of hanging "curtains" on the opposite wall to balance out the room...kind of like a cloth column thing...we'll just have to wait and see.

So the room looks virtually the same, I have been enjoying the experience so much that I have not taken the time to paint the last two columns yet! I have relocated my desk and computer monitor into the room behind my seating. Did a lot of work getting my HTPC up and running. And now am in the process of building a Lilmike F20 sub!!http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1369273

Here are some pictures of my "Lilmikes F20" sub that I built last week!! It is such an awesome improvement over my BIC f12 and working on it has given me motivation to complete my columns and crown molding!!!

Well I finally made some much needed progress on the theatre over the last couple of weeks!!

I finally took down the primer white columns and finished the remaining columns and put them up complete with the remaining sconces!

I also cleaned up the bookcase/projector shelf, I really like it still but it is to easy to put misc stuff in the shelves and clutter it up. When I get around to doing acoustic panels I am thinking of covering the middle nine cubes down from the top with a black panel.

Now I just need to put up the crown molding and finish trim and drop the rope lights in!

In other excitement If it works I totally scored off of Ebay! I won an auction for a GRX-CI-RS232 control box for $60.00. I have only seen these for around $300-$400 even on auction. I plan to connect it to my Grafik Eye (IA series/3500) which will allow me to use iRule to not only call up my preset scenes with feedback but also be able to raise and lower any individual zone as desired!! I plan to get that going tomorrow and cant wait!

I have now had more time to enjoy my Lilmikes F20 sub and let me tell you if you have the room for it and don't mind the build process I highly recommend it to anybody looking to upgrade from an average sub. The sound is just so much more clean, crisp, impactful and powerful it has totally filled a void that I previously didn't fully comprehend was missing! Watched the Polar Express bluray the other night with my daughter and when the train arrives the look on her face was priceless as it sounded like the train was in the house!

So how long does that Christmas tree stay on top of the F20 after you turn on the system? LOL! Great build! That's a handsome room.

LOL, The F20 is so solid, the cabinet doesn't seem to shake or vibrate at all, just everything else in the room! My main problem is trying to get the sconces not to resonate which is a challenge due to there inherent design. Thanks for the compliment on the room!